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Former Chelsea Star Reveals the Reason Behind Failed Spell & Decision to Return to Atletico Madrid

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Atletico Madrid defender Filipe Luis has spoken of his regret at joining Premier League champions Chelsea in July 2014, and confirmed that he turned down a move to Bayern Munich at the time too.

Luis would end up returning to Atleti just 12 months later, after only making 15 appearances for the Blues, and found himself having to play second fiddle to a rejuvenated Cesar Azpilicueta at left back. The Brazilian revealed his reason for making the move in the first place in an interview with Spanish outlet El Mundo, and claimed he knew quickly he wanted to return.

He said: "I was wrong and I realised when I arrived in London, but I had my reasons: to live the experience of playing in another league, another country, another culture.

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"I chose between Bayern and Chelsea and I went for the same reason as what Atleti offered me to re-sign. That is my case, but there are other footballers who go for money and there is nothing wrong with it. It is reasonable."

The defender had previously spent four successful years at Atletico before his big transfer and he hinted at the factors that left him unsettled: "I immediately realised that I missed the people of Calderón and the team. The Atleti came in contact very soon with me to return. 

"The problem is that (Guillermo) Siqueira, who is one of my best friends, was in my position, and I did not want to go back and force him to go. But he encouraged me and I was delighted, so I went home. It was much easier than I expected, people treated me wonderfully and showed no grudge."

Chelsea striker Diego Costa recently secured a similar return to Atleti after falling out with manager Antonio Conte, and Luis claimed that there's nobody he's ever played with who is anything like the powerhouse centre forward.

On his move back to the club, Luis added: "It's just what we need. He has the blood of the Atleti. Fight, counter-attack, strength, character...it's pure Atleti.

"Neymar and (Eden) Hazard are enormous talents, but the one that gave me more titles was Diego Costa. Because it's one thing to score 30 goals with hat-tricks, but Diego will score important goals - ones that will win you games 1-0. Nobody does that like Diego Costa."